


Meet Me At The Cove

by SpicyRedPaladin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beach Holidays, Human Keith (Voltron), Kissing, M/M, Merman Lance (Voltron), Ocean, Omega Verse, Omega/Omega, Shklance Summer Exchange, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 01:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15232806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyRedPaladin/pseuds/SpicyRedPaladin
Summary: Keith thought he was just going to hang out on the beach for the summer. But he ended up finding something that would change his life forever.Gift for Lover-Fangirl-Writer on Tumblr for the Shklance Summer Exchange.





	Meet Me At The Cove

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my lovely giftee Lover-Fangirl-Writer on Tumblr for the Shklance Summer Exchange.  
> Original Link: https://realfuturebluepaladin.tumblr.com/post/175699842251/meet-me-at-the-cove-a-fic-for-the-shklance
> 
> Proofread roughly 4 times, but please tell me if I made any typos~!  
> ~Eli

Keith watched the waves lap at the shore of the little beach he'd found, well secluded from the main beach and all the loud alphas and giggling omegas. He didn’t want to be a part of all that stupid, banal bullcrap. Being an omega, he found it insanely ridiculous that he was expected to pick someone to be shackled to for the rest of his life. He’d much rather be his own person, free from the constraints of his secondary endotype. Keith shifted his position, grumbling about the sand that had gotten into his shorts even though he was sitting on a rock.

A giggle and the scent of salt mixed with lime broke him from his thoughts. He looked around, worried someone had discovered his hiding place. He heard another giggle. This time he could tell it was coming from the water at the base of his rocky perch. Keith gulped and crawled over to the edge. Had someone been here this whole time?

Beneath the rock sat something Keith never thought he would see. A teen about his age, male, pretty caramel skin and wet chocolate curls. And an iridescent, blue tail longer than Keith’s whole body. He stared quietly, mouth hanging open. This was a mermaid. A merman? Did this fish person even have a gender?

The merman chirped a bit, reaching up with one webbed hand. He grinned playfully and chirped again. Keith finally got the hint, reaching down to take the new arrival’s hand. He cried out as he was suddenly yanked down, landing on the merman’s lap and coughing as the wind was knocked out of him. Keith glared up at his assailant, blushing when he realized how startlingly blue his eyes were. He quickly scrambled up, shaking the thought from his mind.

“What the hell, dude? You can’t just yank people around!”

A confused chirp left the merman’s lips, his head tilting a bit to the left. Keith groaned. So this random merman couldn’t understand him. And he couldn’t understand it. Suddenly, the fish hopped a bit, seeming to have remembered something. He tapped his lips with a slender finger and set his hands over his ears before fanning them open with a grin. Keith gave him a confused look and the merman thought for a moment before nodding a bit. He touched his own lips again and then touched Keith’s.

The human understood now.

Keith glared a bit before sighing and nodding. The merman chirped excitedly, leaning forward with a smile. Keith gulped and did the same, closing his eyes as their lips met. He was surprised at how soft the merman’s lips were, quickly relaxing to the tangy scent of lime he gave off. The moment they pulled away, Keith regretted everything.

“You’re an omega human that’s so amazing! I didn’t know humans could be alphas and omegas and betas like Merlaes but that’s so amazing! I’m an omega, too~! My name is Ralanceli, but everyone calls me ‘Lance’ cause Ralanceli is our prince’s name, too. What’s your name? Do you have an alpha? Are you all alone?”

Keith stared in horror as Lance rambled. When the merman finally stopped talking, Keith was still staring. Lance waited patiently for any of his questions to be answered. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth again. Keith slapped his hand over Lance’s mouth.

“No more. Stop talking.”

Lance’s eyes widened and he grinned brightly. Keith looked away, embarrassed by how much his new companion was talking. Should he answer any of the questions? His parents would say no, but, honestly Keith didn’t give a crap about what his parents wanted. Plus, he was a rebellious youth. It would be unheard of if he did what his parents would want.

“I’m Keith. Yeah, I’m omega. And I don’t need an alpha. I’m perfectly happy by myself.”

Lance’s brows furrowed. The thought of not needing an alpha seemed to confuse him.

“But… How can you spawn more of your kind without an alpha?”

“I don’t want kids. I don’t need them. I don’t need anyone.”

Lance nodded a bit, thinking.

“Well, I mean… don’t you get lonely…?”

Keith thought about that for a moment, looking up at the blue summer sky. He sighed. Was he lonely?

“Yeah… I do. My parents have each other, and everyone is looking at each other. But none of them look at me, and none of them want to smell me… So yeah, I’m lonely. But I don’t want any of the alpha brutes that are available.”

Lance listened quietly, nodding as though he knew how Keith felt.

“Have you thought about courting another omega?”

Keith looked at him, surprised. He’d heard of it, but that would be insane.

“But all the other omegas want the jackwagon alphas with strong scents. My scent isn’t strong enough to attract another omega.”

Lance leaned forward, making Keith blush as the merman look a deep whiff.

“Hm~ You smell spicy. I like your scent a lot.”

Keith didn’t know what to do. No one had ever said that to him. It was so far out of the realm of what he believed possible. So Keith did something else that was different.

He leaned in and kissed Lance again. Their lips slid together playfully, and the end of Lance’s tail splashed in the water with joy. The two scooted closer, lips coming apart and together in soft, playful little dances. Both were grinning by the time they actually pulled away, blue eyes meeting purple ones. Lance leaned in again, but Keith dodged, laughing a bit.

“So… I’m gonna be spending the whole summer here. And I don’t know if you have any migration patterns or anything, but… Can I court you?”

Lance nodded, wrapping his arms around Keith happily.

“Yeah! Yeah, you can~! We don’t migrate cause it’s nice here year round, so I’ll definitely be around!”

Keith nodded, hugging back.

“Then I’ll court you through the summer. And every summer that I come back.”

Lance kissed his cheek, snuggling him happily. The two sat together until the sun started to set. Keith cursed under his breath when he noticed the sun going down.

“My parents are gonna throw a fit if I don’t get back to the condo…”

Lance nodded, looking sad.

“Okay… Will you come back in the morning, Keith?”

Keith kneeled down and kissed his merman omega with a soft smile, staying close so he could breathe in their mixed scents.

“Of course. I’ll come back here every free moment I have.”

Lance grinned and nodded, leaning forward for one last kiss before Keith had to go.

The next morning, Keith had a bag of snacks, some water bottles, his sunscreen, and his phone. He sat the bag on the big rock and looked out to the ocean, crossing his arms. Lance must be running a little late. Soon, he felt a smile come to his face as he noticed a long, shimmering shape beneath the water.

Lance popped up, dragging himself a bit so he could sit in the same spot against the rock as yesterday. He motioned for Keith to come over and touched his lips, chirping cutely. Keith shook his head a bit and smiled, plopping down with his legs across Lance’s tail before kissing him.

The two spent their day wrapped around each other, talking about the differences between life on land versus life in the sea. Keith fed Lance nuts and fruits and bits of chocolate from his bags of trail mix, and Lance quickly learned how to catch them with his mouth if Keith happened to toss one.

The two continued to meet, Keith bringing snacks and Lance bringing presents in the form of shells and sand dollars. Soon, Keith’s pale skin was just as dark as Lance’s from how long he sat in the sun with his Merlae mate.

Keith stared at his calendar anxiously. It was the twenty-eighth of July. Tomorrow, he and his parents would leave Angel’s Cove and he would have to go back into society and find an actual mate. But how could he leave when he knew his mate was here, swimming in the waters of the vast, blue ocean? How could he leave the first person he'd ever wanted to open up to?

The omega shook his head defiantly, packing his bag for the day and running from the condo before his parents could catch him. Maybe if he hid somewhere, he could stay. Could stay with his blue, fishy boyfriend and let the the sun char his skin and never have to worry about finding a brute alpha or becoming a baby-making trophy.

Lance was waiting at the little inlet when Keith arrived, playing with little fish and laughing happily with the gulls. The human watched with a smile, scenting the lime in the air. He hurried over, swinging his bag onto the large rock so it wouldn't get wet before running into the water to see Lance.

The two played and frollicked until the sun was high over their heads, at which point Keith dragged himself out to lay in the sand. Lance followed, trilling happily. Keith leaned over, pressing his lips to Lance’s. The Merlae returned it, making a sound of content before flopping down.

“That was so fun~! After you do your eating and rest, we can play again?”

“Yeah. But Lance, I gotta talk to you about something really important.”

“Speak, mate! I will always listen to your words!”

Keith smiled and reached across the small space between them, taking Lance’s webbed hand.

“Tomorrow my parents and I have to go back to the city. But I don't want to leave you...:”

Lance shimmied closer, pressing their foreheads together.

“My Keith… I know a way you can join me, if you want to… but you can’t go back once it's done.”

The young man grew silent, thinking about this offer. Did he have anything here to look forward to? Anything to brighten the existence of an omega? No. There was nothing left on land for him. Lance was his light.

“I don't want to go back, Lance. I want to be with you. No matter what the cost is.”

The Merlae trilled happily, pushing himself up onto his arms.

“Then I have to go get something for you. I don't know how long it will take, but I will try so hard to be back in time.”

Keith nodded, sitting up and hurrying to his bag.

“Before you go, I wanna take a picture. Just in case.”

Lance tilted his head, but trilled an affirmative, snuggling up to Keith and looking up at the little box he brought over. The screen flashed for a moment before his human lover showed him the screen. There they were, Lance and Keith pressed together and covered in sand. Lance touched the picture with a finger, smiling. Of all the pictures Keith had taken of them, this was both of their favorites.

The two broke apart reluctantly, Lance slipping into the sea and Keith perching himself on his rocky throne to wait. He ignored his phone when it rang, finally putting it on airplane mode after a good 27 missed calls and roughly 84 texts. He couldn't back out now, after all.

The sun slowly fell, eventually casting Keith in shadow. The sun continued its decline, and the moon rose high, bringing in the tide. Keith was safe where he sat, but he couldn't leave without landing in fifteen or so feet of cold water.

Finally, he saw a soft blue glow in the water. He came up to the very edge of the rock before Lance popped his head out. He lifted his hands to Keith, who reached out to accept the small pearl his love had brought him. It was a vibrant red, definitely unnatural, but so very beautiful. Lance opened his mouth and pointed inside and then at the pearl.

A deep breath steadied Keith for what he was about to do. He quickly turned his phone data back on, sending the last picture he’d taken to his parents before swallowing the pearl. It was heavy going down, like a pill that had twisted the wrong direction. Lance ushered him into the water, helping Keith out of his clothes in anticipation of what was beginning to happen.

Ripples of fire danced across Keith's skin, leaving behind beautiful red markings that shimmered in the moonlight. His bottom half began to burn as his legs were drawn together and fused, anatomy shifting to allow for the change. Delicate, flowing fins extended from the taper his feet had become, and blazing, red scales slowly grew over his new tail. Lance pulled Keith beneath the waves, their bodies glowing red and blue as gills sprung open along Keith's ribs and throat. He took a deep breath of water, eyes widening. Lance trilled and the former human could actually hear his words.

“You are like me, now! We can be together until we become the foam that lines the shores, and I will love you the whole time.”

Keith grinned and pressed their foreheads together, trilling back.

“And I'll love you even longer, Lance.”


End file.
